SAN JOSE, California — Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg (16-6) will face Falaniko “Niko” Vitale and Duane “Bang” Ludwig (16-8) will take on Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan when Strikeforce ventures to Denver, Colorado’s Broomfield Events Center on October 3rd.

Also back in action at Strikeforce “Payback” will be “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni and “The Ultimate Fighter” season four veteran, “The Secret Weapon,” Pete Spratt (18-14).   

TRIGG
• Stopped Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the second round on December 1, 2006.
• Earned a shot at Pride champion Kazuo Misaki, whom Trigg overpowered and outwrestled to earn a unanimous decision on February 24, 2007.
• In his latest effort, which came on December 15, 2007, Trigg quickly submitted Edwin Dewees at the 1:40 mark of Round 1 at Dallas, Texas’ American Airlines Center.
• Trigg emerged on the MMA scene in 1997, shortly after graduating from University of Oklahoma and was victorious in his first eight starts, including his Pride debut on November 21, 1999, in which he stopped Brazil’s Fabiano Iha in the first round of action with a series of strikes.
• Spirited and outspoken, Trigg has been around the block in the world of Hollywood, having made appearances in an episode of hit sitcom series “The King Of Queens,” the recent Sony Pictures Classics silver screen release “Red Belt” and serves as an analyst and plays an on-screen role in TNA Wrestling.   

VITALE
• Vitale, the pride of Honolulu, Hawaii, is looking to notch his third consecutive victory following his conquest of a four-man elimination event in his hometown on January 26th. • To date, Vitale’s greatest win has to be his triumph over 2000 Olympics Greco-Roman wrestling silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland.
•  During Strikeforce’s inaugural fight card at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on September 29, 2007, Vitale hammered Ron Fields into submission in the opening round of their bout.

LUDWIG
• Ludwig, a native of Denver, will revisit history and attempt to produce a radically different result from his first dance with Morgan three years ago that ended abruptly 52 seconds into the opening round after Ludwig hit the canvas from a barrage of punches.
• Ironically, Ludwig, in his next start, shattered the all-time record for quickest UFC knockout when he flattened Jonathan Goulet with a right hand at the 11 second mark of their live Spike TV battle on January 16, 2006.
• Ludwig, who celebrated his 30th birthday last week, has shaped his mixed martial arts game around his foundation in muay Thai kickboxing, which he took up at the age of 15.  
 
MORGAN
• Morgan, 26, is looking to rebound from two straight defeats, the first of which came at the hands of recently-crowned Strikeforce world middleweight champion Cung Le.  The fight with Le marked a jump in weight classes for Morgan, who had spent the rest of his career fighting in the 170 lb. class.
• Morgan’s unique nickname, “The Squeeze,” stems from his thoughts on handling psychological pressure in a competitive situation.  

Courtesy of Strikeforce